Dirty Little Secret
by sp0by
Summary: When new girl Emily Fields is asked to tutor the popular Alison DiLaurentis, her world turns upside down. Alison, who hates Emily's friends, develops a soft spot for Emily. What if their tutoring sessions become more than just tutoring? Will Emily stick with Alison, even when she hides their secret, and acts horribly towards her friends?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Brushing her hair in the mirror, Emily Fields was getting ready for her first day of junior year... at a new school. Her mother had lost her job back in their hometown, and after months of searching, found a new job in Pennsylvania. Her dad was serving in the army, so she didn't get to see him very often. But she and her mother tried to stay strong about her dad's absence. They both loved him, and that would never change. Adjusting to her new school would be the current issue. She was afraid to start trying again— she had to meet new people, make new friends. What if they didn't like her? Today was the day of first impressions, and she knew that.

"Hey, Emmy," Pam Fields, her mother, warmly greeted, walking into her daughter's bedroom. "You look great, by the way. Are you ready for your first day of school?"

"I'm trying to be," Emily said, sighing. She glanced at herself in the mirror. "Should we leave now?"

Pam nodded her head, and motioned for her to come downstairs. First, Emily had some pancakes for breakfast, and then her mother drove her to Rosewood High School— her new school. When her mother was pulling up in the drop-off zone, Emily was stunned. She took a long look at the Pennsylvanian high school. There were students everywhere, greeting their friends. They had all known each other for so long. They were all reuniting, and she was just beginning her time here. The nervousness came back.

"Be safe, honey. Have a good first day," Pam said, pecking the top of her daughter's head. "I love you, sweetie. Be courageous, and make some new friends. I know you can do it."

"I love you, too, mom," Emily said with a smile, before getting out of the car. Before her mom could drive off, Emily also added, "Have a great day at work!"

She went to the office, picking up a copy of her class schedule. She had first period French III with Mrs. Berg. When she heard the first bell ring, she decided that it would be a good time to get going. She didn't want to be late to her first class of the year. There was almost nobody in the class when she first entered. In fact, there was only one other girl. A punctual brunette.

"You ladies are early," Mrs. Berg said with a smile. "That was the ten minute bell. There's plenty of time."

"I like to be on time. It's a Hastings' thing," the girl said, turning around to face Emily. "Are you new to this school? I don't know you. And I know like everybody. I'm Spencer, by the way."

"Emily," she introduced herself. "And yeah, I am new. It's my first year here. My mom just got a new job here, so... new school for me."

"That's rough," Spencer said, nodding her head. "I'll never know what it's like to move around from place to place, though, so I don't know exactly what you're going through. I was born and raised here. I've lived here my whole life."

"Lucky you," Emily said, sighing. "Moving around is not fun. You'd think getting a fresh start would be a good thing, but it's not. It's like you have to do everything over again. Meet new people. I mean, I want to, but it's harder than it sounds."

"Well, you've met me already. Was it that hard?" Spencer asked, laughing.

"No, but only because you made it easy," Emily responded, smiling at her. "But thank you for doing that."

"I'll make it even easier for you," Spencer said, smiling back at her. "Unless you've already found some new posse, would you like to sit with me and my friends at lunch today? They're a good group."

"I would love to!" Emily exclaimed, as more girls started to enter the classroom.

Spencer got a distraught look on her face when a certain other blonde entered the classroom.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked, noticing the look.

"That girl... steer clear from her," Spencer warned. "Her name's Alison DiLaurentis, and she practically runs this school. Think about any teen flick that you've watched, and remember the mean girl. She's that girl. Did you think those movies would never be realistic? Here's the best case of a teen flick you'll find. She likes to ruin lives. I used to be friends with her. I'm better off now."

"She's a mean girl? What did she do to you?" Emily asked, totally confused.

"A lot of things. Just don't bother with her. It's better to stay away. She makes things complicated, and you'll regret it if you mess with her," Spencer vaguely responded.

Emily eyed the blonde girl as she walked in— Alison DiLaurentis. That was a name to remember. She was beautiful, so it was no surprise that she was a popular girl at their school. Emily's chocolate eyes couldn't look away. The girl was flawless. Clear, creamy skin. Curvy body. Hot outfit. She couldn't find a flaw in that girl. The rest of the period went by, and Mrs. Berg gave her introduction to the course, but Emily couldn't take her eyes off of the blonde girl.

...

It was lunch time, finally, and Emily was sitting with Spencer's friends. They seemed like nice people. So, she already made three friends on her first day at a new school? She was pretty impressed with herself for that. She and Spencer had two morning classes together— their French class, and their chemistry class. She was thrilled to have two classes with her first friend.

"So, Emily, are you liking it here so far?" Aria Montgomery, one of Spencer's friends, asked her, as all four girls ate their lunches.

"It's pretty good so far," Emily responded. "I mean, the classes I'm taking don't seem too tough, and the people here are pretty nice. Well, I think I'm just pretty lucky. I ran into Spencer during French. That was the best part of the day. So now, I've gotten to meet three really great people already."

Aria smiled and said, "I'm really glad you're here. I hope you continue to sit with us."

"Who else am I going to sit with?" Emily laughed. "You're my first friends, and probably the best ones I could have found."

Hanna Marin raised her eyebrows and asked, "Are you just going to kill us with kindness and flattery? That's not the way to our hearts. Do you want to know how to make me love you? Buy me a cookie."

"A cookie? Ok, I'll go get one from the lunch lady—" Emily began, almost getting up, but Spencer grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Emily, don't," Spencer laughed, shaking her head. "Hanna's just being a jokester, as she always is."

"A jokester?" Hanna questioned. "Did you actually just call me that, Spence?"

"Tell me you were actually expecting her to buy you a cookie right now!" Spencer cried.

"Alright, I wasn't. But definitely brownie points for offering to get it," Hanna said, smiling with her adorable dimples. "I like you already, Fields. Do we have any classes coming up together?"

"I don't know. What do you have next period?" Emily asked.

"AP English with Mr. Fitz," Hanna responded, reading off her schedule. "I can't believe I'm taking AP English..."

"You have English with Mr. Fitz next?" Emily questioned, her eyes widening. "This must be a crazy coincidence, because I do, too!"

"Really?" Hanna said, shocked. "We have a class together, then!"

"Hey, so do I," Spencer said, laughing. "That's too much craziness. Don't tell me Aria has him next period, too..."

"The funniest thing is... I do," Aria confessed, laughing with them. But then she realized something. "Holy... crap. Guys, do you think Mr. Fitz would be a young teacher?"

"Um, yeah," Hanna said, giggling. "Everyone is talking about how hot he is. He's a hot teacher. He's young, too. I heard that he just graduated college recently. It's his first year of teaching. Why? Are you thinking about getting frisky with our teacher?"

"No! That's crazy!" Aria cried. "But, when I got back from my summer trip to Iceland, I went to a pub bar, and I met this guy, and he was an Ezra Fitz, and—"

"You think you hooked up with our English teacher!?" Hanna cried.

"Quiet down," Aria said, covering Hanna's mouth. "If it's true, nobody can know! I don't know yet. Maybe there are multiple Ezras in this town, because I couldn't have made out with a teacher. And we didn't hook up, Hanna, we just kissed for a very long time."

"You did NOT spill about this for such a long time!" Spencer cried. "Why didn't you tell us about this guy?"

"Um, I didn't think a make-out session with an older guy from a bar bathroom was a very classy topic to bring up," Aria said, raising her eyebrows. "And when, in a conversation, would I even bring that up? It doesn't flow!"

Emily was baffled. She always wanted to have a fun life like that. She wanted friends that discussed their latest make-out sessions. Back in her old school, her friends were goody-goods. Therefore, she was a goody-good, too. She would always study. She never got a boyfriend. She spent all of her time practicing swimming and studying. Her friends didn't do anything bad or crazy. They didn't drink, they didn't kiss guys, they didn't do stuff like that. She wanted to live a fun and dangerous life. Maybe now was her chance to become somebody new.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

About a week had passed since Emily Fields began attending Rosewood High School. She continued to hang out with Spencer's group. She was growing increasingly close to them, especially Hanna. For some reason, the two of them clicked really well. She was happy with her new friends, and her mother was just happy she was making friends at all. Pam knew that starting over in a new school would be tough for her daughter, but they had to do it. With her father in the army, they needed money, and if Pam wasn't working, they weren't making any money. A new job was the only way to make it through life. She knew Emily's amazing swimmer talents would get her into a great college, and Pam would hate herself if money was the reason she couldn't go to the college of her dreams.

Arriving in Mrs. Berg's classroom for another day of French class, Emily sat down in her seat behind Spencer. The two girls began talking about their life almost immediately, but were cut off when Mrs. Berg called Spencer to talk to her.

"What is happening?" Spencer asked, worried, getting up from her seat. Emily shrugged her shoulders, giving Spencer an apologetic look.

But of course, Mrs. Berg wasn't angry with Spencer or anything. It was far from her being in trouble. Actually, it was good!

"Miss Hastings, you are one of my top students already. Last year, you scored incredibly in your French class, and that's why I have to ask you something," Mrs. Berg began. "One of my students came to me with a concern. She's been struggling to keep up with French for a long time, ever since last year. And now she's fallen behind, so... she asked me to find her a peer tutor. It's for credits, of course. Would you be willing to tutor this student?"

"Mrs. Berg, it's an honor that you asked me to tutor this student," Spencer began, "but I can't. I'm swarmed this year. I have to focus on preparing for the SATs, and I'm in so many AP classes. I have to worry about keeping my own grades up. I have clubs, and field hockey... I don't think I have the time for this."

"No, that's alright, Spencer. It's such a shame, though. She really needs help, and I've asked other top students, such as Andrew Campbell, but I've had no luck," Mrs. Berg said, sighing. "I don't know how I'm going to get her the help she needs. I don't want her to fall behind any further. I can't ask just any student. They have to be qualified. I can't have a peer tutor that doesn't know what they're talking about. I hate to see her struggle."

"And I hate turning your offer down," Spencer said with a sad look on her face. "Look, I think I have a solution. Emily! She's the new girl here, she hasn't signed up for much yet. And she's really good at French, trust me, I know."

"She is doing very well in my class. She got a perfect score on our first quiz," Mrs. Berg agreed. "Are you certain that she's a qualified student?"

"She's not a native speaker or anything, but she knows her stuff," Spencer guaranteed. "Emily, come over here!"

The tan skinned girl furrowed her eyebrows, getting up from her chair, and joining the teacher and Spencer.

"Am I in trouble or something?" Emily asked.

"No, Emily, you're fine," Mrs. Berg laughed. "Spencer was telling me what a great French speaker you are!"

"Really? Uh... Thank you, Spencer," Emily said, raising her eyebrows. "But what is this about? Why is she saying that?"

"I asked Spencer to be a peer tutor for a struggling student in one of my classes," Mrs. Berg explained. "But, she has a very busy year. She's enrolled in many clubs and sports. Since you're an excellent student in my class, I was wondering if you had the time, and would like to tutor this student. She really needs help. It would be so kind of you."

"I would love to!" Emily exclaimed. "Would this be worth credits?"

"Of course," Mrs. Berg said, nodding her head. "Are you busy with anything conflicting? Something that would make scheduling have certain times. Within reason, of course. Don't mention things like sleeping time. I think I know my boundaries for that kind of time."

"Well, I will be trying out for the swim team, but that's not for a bit. So, I'm good until then," Emily said. "After tryouts, if I do happen to make the team, then I would have to tutor after 5:00 PM."

"Sounds good to me!" Mrs. Berg exclaimed. "Emily, I can't thank you enough. I'll notify you as soon as I finalize everything. This is amazing of you. You're really helping her."

Spencer smiled, walking back to her seat.

"Wait, so who am I even tutoring?" Emily asked. "I know I don't know a lot of names around here, but I'd like if you could tell me anyways. If it's not a problem, that is."

"No, it's no problem, since you've agreed to tutor her," Mrs. Berg answered. "Her name is Alison DiLaurentis. I believe she is in this class period. Am I correct?"

Emily's eyes widened as she nodded and said, "Yeah... you're correct."

Just then, Emily saw Alison freaking DiLaurentis walking into the classroom. She was laughing with some posse of hers, and then entered the room, taking her seat. Emily swallowed hard. She couldn't believe that she would be tutoring Alison soon.

After class, Emily grabbed Spencer. She had to inform her of the shocking news: she was tutoring Alison! It was big, right? Spencer had told her to stay away from Alison for vague reasons when they first met. She didn't know why Spencer had bad history with her, but Emily did know that she, herself, was afraid of Alison, without even knowing her well. She was taking Spencer's word for it. Alison seemed scary. Like the kind of girl that would ruin her if she did something wrong... She wanted to live dangerously at her new school, but she wasn't sure that she was ready to handle somebody like Alison DiLaurentis.

"What is going on?" Spencer asked. "You've been freaking out ever since you talked to Mrs. Berg! Is tutoring that scary for you?"

"Well, it wasn't... not until Mrs. Berg told me the student that I'm tutoring!" Emily cried.

"What are you talking about?" Spencer asked. "Who did you get? If it's some crush of yours, then you should be happy. It's like bonding time. Tutoring always brings people together in those romance movies. Haven't you ever seen that?"

"The person I'm tutoring isn't some hot guy that I like," Emily confessed. "Spencer, I have to tutor Alison DiLaurentis."

"What!?" Spencer cried. "Cancel on Mrs. Berg now!"

"I can't! I just made the commitment to it," Emily said, sighing. "I can't just quit on her because someone told me to stay away from the girl. It can't be for personal reasons. Maybe she's not as bad as you're making her seem."

"Oh, she is, honey," Spencer said, raising her eyebrows. "She is truly horrible. You'll be pissed off at her in seconds. She loves making people mad. It's her forte. And she loves it. Just tell Mrs. Berg some lie. There has to be some way to get out of it. Mrs. Berg can't force you to tutor her."

"Spencer, I can't do that," Emily said, giving her a look. "I made this commitment. Alison needs the help, so I need to live up to what I said I would do. If it's as horrible as you say it is, I'll quit. But for now, let me just test the waters. We should go to chem now, or we'll be late for class."

The girls entered their chemistry class.

Mr. Locke, the chemistry teacher, had a new seating chart posted on the smart board. It was a picture of everyone's names, next to a new lab partner. They switched lab partners every one to two weeks. Mr. Locke liked to make sure things didn't get old and repetitive in his class.

Spencer read the board, and a lump grew in her throat. Toby Cavanaugh. She was supposed to sit next to Toby freaking Cavanaugh! He was the hottie on the football team. He had a perfect body, a perfect face, a perfect smile, and he was a nice guy. Who wouldn't fall for that? She didn't know how to be his lab partner. She had been secretly crushing on on him, but nobody knew. Not even Aria or Hanna knew about her crush.

"Hey," he greeted, sitting down next to her with a warm smile. "Did you do your lab procedure for homework last night? Are we good to go for the lab today?"

Spencer nodded her head weakly.

"Are you ok?" Toby asked, and she nodded her head again. "Cool. Then let's start the lab now."

But the whole period, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. And just lucky for her, the first person was about to find out about her crush on Toby. And it was Emily, who observed the whole thing. To make matters worse for Spencer, Mr. Locke had a little announcement to make.

"I don't mean to interrupt your labs, but I just wanted to let you know that since this unit is a much longer one, you're going to be working with your current partners for about over a month," Mr. Locke explained. "This unit is incredibly long. Get comfortable with your partners."

Toby smiled and said, "So, I guess we're partners for the next month?"

Spencer faked a laugh and scratched her head. Oh god.

After class, Emily walked up to her before she could go to history class.

"Am I crazy, or were you checking out your new lab partner!?" Emily teased.

"You're crazy," Spencer confirmed, turning away.

"Wait up!" Emily cried. "Do you like him or something? He is cute, I admit."

"Cute? Are you freaking kidding me!?" Spencer cried. "I never talk like this. Never ever. So forget you heard me say it. I'll only say it once in my life, but that boy is freaking gorgeous! And he's nice! And he's perfect! And I just want to kiss those perfect lips of his! Ok, now forget we talked."

"You like him!?" Emily cried. "I knew I wasn't crazy!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Hey, Emily..." Spencer muttered. "So, you haven't told Aria or Hanna about what I said to you after chemistry yesterday, right?"

"No, of course not. Your secret is safe with me," Emily said with a quiet laugh. "But, can I ask... how long have you liked him?"

"Sophomore year. I tutored him in French, just like you're tutoring Alison now," Spencer confessed. "He was so nice. He was so amazing. I looked forward to it every day. But nothing ever happened between us. And nothing ever will."

"Don't say that," Emily said with a sympathetic look on her face. "Maybe fate is bringing you one more chance with this whole lab partner thing!"

"Fate? Did you actually just say that?" Spencer scoffed. "That's stupid and crazy."

"What if I believe in that?" Emily asked.

"Then you're crazy," Spencer said.

...

Emily held the sheet of paper in her hands. She stared at it nervously. It read, 'Library, 3:30'. Mrs. Berg had given it to her at the beginning of French class that day. She didn't know if she was ready to tutor Alison DiLaurentis. Honestly, she was afraid of the girl. Spencer made her seem so horrible. And she was already intimidating! But Emily had to muster up her courage, and enter Rosewood High School's library. She scanned the room for the gorgeous blonde from her French class, but had no luck. Maybe Alison found out she was her tutor, and decided not to show because she already hated her! Her mind kept jumping to horrible conclusions.

She sat down at the table, patiently waiting, but she had no luck. Emily kept scrolling through her phone, hoping that Alison would come to her at some point. But it was already 4:00, and there was no sign of her. It seemed that she really did bail on the tutoring session. Thirty minutes had passed since they were supposed to meet. She wasn't going to show up. Emily was the kind of girl to have a little bit of faith, though. She decided she would wait until 4:05.

The librarian came over to her and said, "Honey, you've been sitting on your phone for the past half an hour. If that's what you're here for, I think you can do that somewhere else. This is a library. It's for studying, reading, homework, and all that. It's not phone hour."

"I'm sorry. I'm waiting for somebody," she said, scratching her head. "I was supposed to tutor her at 3:30—"

"It's 4:05 now, I don't think she's coming," the librarian told her. "Why don't you give her a call? But not in here."

Emily raised her eyebrows as the librarian walked away. She would have called Alison, but she had no way of contacting the girl. Mrs. Berg hadn't given her any contact information! She was giving up. It wasn't her fault that Alison didn't show up at all. She picked up her bag, and started to leave, when an arm grabbed hers.

"Are you Emily Fields?" she asked, with a blank look on her face. It was Alison. "I'm Alison DiLaurentis, but you probably already know that."

"I do," she choked out, and scratched her head. "Um... we were supposed to start thirty minutes ago, but that's ok—"

"Well, I was busy hanging out. Tutoring needed to wait," Alison scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Are we going to start this thing or what?"

Emily nodded her head, and they sat down at the table again. She got out all of her French books and materials. She ever went out of her way to prepare a lesson plan for Alison. She wanted to be liked by this girl. For some reason, she wanted Spencer to be wrong about her. She wanted to get along with Alison.

"Wow..." Alison muttered, looking at everything Emily had planned for her. "You put a lot of work into this."

"Well, I just want to do the best job I can,"

Emily said, biting her lip. "We can start by flipping to our workbook pages for homework. Let's see where you struggle with this."

Alison actually obeyed, and flipped her workbook open. But as she began to scan the page, and search for concepts she didn't understand, a few papers were thrown at her. She rolled her eyes, opening the first folded up paper that was tossed at her. Emily watched, confused by what was happening.

It read, 'Come make out with us, hottie!'

Alison rolled her eyes, crumpling it up again. She tossed it in the trash can, getting upset.

"Are you ok?" Emily asked. "Why did they do that?"

"They're dicks, that's why," Alison responded, her eyes starting to water. Was she crying? "I'm sorry, I can't do this right now. Do you want to come to my place?"

"To finish studying?" Emily asked.

"No... I just want to get my mind off of everything," Alison answered, and started packing her bag up. "We can start the studying thing again tomorrow."

...

Aria stood in front of his desk, with a pink slip in her hands. He swallowed hard, knowing exactly what she was doing.

"Aria, are you sure you want to do this?" Ezra Fitz asked, grabbing a black ballpoint pen from his desk. "You don't have to switch classes because of me. We can forget about what happened before school started. This can end here. I'll be your teacher, you'll be my student. It's fine."

She shook her head and quietly said, "The thing is... I don't think I can ever forget what happened. And you, being my teacher, is making it too hard to be in this class."

"But you'll have to drop down to regular English if you're transferring out of my class. They don't do it by teacher preference. If I'm signing this, you're going to have to take regular English," Ezra warned.

"That's not enough to make me stay," Aria told him. "I'm willing to lose the extra GPA point."

"Don't run from me, please," Ezra begged. "I'll sign this paper, but before you turn it in, think about what you're doing. I'm going to try and make this not weird for us. If you stay in my class, I won't keep making it awkward, I promise. I'll try to make it normal again. Even if you do quit my class, you'll still have to see me around all the time. Things aren't going to change, so you might as well just stay."

"But I can't face you every day for the rest of the year!" Aria cried. "How am I supposed to do that when... never mind."

"When what?" Ezra asked. "What do you want me to do? I can't quit. I need this job."

"Nothing. When nothing. And you don't have to do anything," Aria told him. "I'll handle myself."

"Aria," he said, grabbing her arm. "Please, let me in. Why can't you at least try?"

"Because! I can't face you every day when I want you so badly," Aria confessed, and then turned away. She started walking towards the door. "I know it's crazy, and stupid, and—"

"It's not stupid. It certainly is crazy, but it's not stupid. But I'm crazy, too," Ezra told her, and got up from his desk. "Because I want you just as badly."

With that, he leaned down and kissed Aria's lips suddenly, sending butterflies through her. Pulling back, she grabbed the pink sheet from Ezra's desk, and began walking to the door. She couldn't say anything. She was conflicted.

"Think about it," Ezra reminded, and she nodded her head, walking out the door of the classroom.

She turned around, getting ready to walk towards the parking lot, when Hanna showed up.

"Why are you always in Mr. Fitz's classroom?" Hanna asked, laughing. "Do you have a thing for another Fitz, just like the bar guy?"

"No!" Aria cried, biting her lip. "What are you even doing here? It's almost 4:30. I came here because I needed help with my essay."

"Oh, I came here to see Sean's basketball game," Hanna said. "It's starting soon, but I wanted to get something to eat. They're serving food in the cafeteria before the game starts. It's like a pre-game celebration! They have ice cream!"

"Maybe I'll get some ice cream before I go home," Aria said, smiling, and began walking to the cafeteria with Hanna.

...

"What happened back there?" Emily asked as they entered the house.

Alison set her bag down on the couch, and then turned to face Emily.

"Nothing I want to talk about," she said, sighing. "I'm so tired of talking. But you're nice. You're not like other people."

"How do you know that?" Emily asked curiously.

"Oh, honey, I just know," Alison responded with a smirk. "You're different. And I like that about you. Tell me about yourself. For once, I actually care."

Emily felt flattered as she said, "I just moved here... my mom got a new job. My dad's in the army. He's never around, and I miss him. I wish he was still here."

"I know how you feel," Alison said, sitting down on the couch.

"You do?" Emily asked. "Your dad is in the army?"

"No, but he's never around," Alison responded. "He and my mom got divorced. He left us. He left me. And he doesn't care anymore. I think he might be dating some hooker."

"A hooker!?" Emily cried.

"When I went to visit him about a week ago, he was with some woman that works at a strip club," Alison explained sadly. "I think she was a prostitute."

"That's horrible," Emily said, biting down on her lip hard. "So, you said you wanted to get your mind off of everything. How does a movie sound?"

Alison smiled and answered, "A movie sounds great."

So, the two girls watched a movie together. But they talked in between it. They had so much to talk about, even though they didn't even know each other. Emily was starting to feel like maybe Spencer was wrong about her. She was amazing. She was so kind. She had such a strained background. Her mother never truly expressed her love for her. Her mother was always fighting with her father. Alison wasn't some monster. She was human.

It was almost midnight, and Emily had fallen asleep, her head resting on Alison's shoulder. The blonde didn't move her head. She kind of liked it there. It felt right. It fit right. Alison didn't know what was happening to her. She cared about Emily, even though they barely knew each other. She was different than other people, and that was so clear. She was sweet and compassionate. Alison could take that impression away after only knowing her for a few hours. But she already felt close to Emily, and she hates it. She didn't know how to care for somebody. She wished she knew, but she didn't. She never learned. What if it was too late to learn how to care?

Suddenly, Emily woke up and checked the time on her phone.

"Holy crap, it's late!" Emily cried. "My mom's been texting me for hours."

"Do you want to just crash here?" Alison asked. "My mom isn't coming home tonight. Plus, you probably don't want to drive at this hour..." Alison felt silly, but she wanted Emily to stay.

"It's ok," Emily said, shaking her head. "I can walk, my house is actually pretty close to yours. But thank you for the fun day. It was way better than studying." Emily smiled, picking her bag up off of the floor, and walking towards the door.

Alison got up, switching the TV off, and following her to the door.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Alison asked.

"My mom's going to freak if she doesn't see me. Besides, it's a school night, and it's already really late. She doesn't like it when I have sleepovers on school nights, anyways," Emily explained. "I had a lot of fun, though."

"So did I," Alison admitted, scratching her head. Emily began walking, but the blonde exclaimed, "Emily! By the way, today at the library, I was upset because those guys always treat me like I'm a sex icon. I don't want to be that to them. No one ever thinks I mean anything... they think I have the heart of a bitch, and they always think my body and looks are the real prize. Noel Kahn and his friends... they always do that to me. And I'm scared that's all they'll ever think of me— some prize to hook up with."

Emily gave her an apologetic look before saying, "They're crazy. Some day, you're going to find somebody that loves you. Every part of you. Not just your amazing body, but who you are inside. And that person is the luckiest person on earth. I don't know you that well, but I think you're worth much more than that. Whoever gets to be the love of your life... well they're a pretty damn lucky person."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Damn it, Sean!" Hanna yelled, but her boyfriend rolled his eyes and stormed away. Devastated, she walked to the cafeteria table that her friends were sitting at. "I think Sean and I just got into a huge fight. But I don't want to break up!"

"What happened, Han?" Spencer asked, squeezing the blonde's hand.

"I caught him hugging Prudence Finn after his basketball game last night!" Hanna cried. "I know, I'm being a jealous girlfriend, please don't tell me that. But he's always hanging out with Prudence. Hell, he's always hanging out with other pretty girls! What if I'm not enough for him?"

Suddenly, Toby Cavanaugh took a seat at their table with a big grin on his face.

"Hey, Spencer," he greeted warmly. "I had a question about the next lab procedure that we have for homework tonight. If the amount of sodium is the dependent variable, then what is the independent variable?"

"I'll send you a photo of my homework tonight," she said, sighing, and then turning away.

"Ok, cool. Thank you," he said, still smiling. "Hey, are you on the JV team for field hockey?"

"No, I made varsity this year," Spencer told him with a proud smile on her face.

"When's your first game?" Toby asked curiously.

"Um, next Friday, I think, if I'm recalling correctly," Spencer answered with a smile. "Why?"

"I think I'm going," he said, patting her shoulder. "I'll see you there, I guess!"

Spencer nodded her head, and quickly turned away, breathing heavily. She couldn't believe that she had butterflies after talking to a guy. She was supposed to be Spencer Hastings... the strong, independent woman that didn't need a man to be happy! But for some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about that guy.

Emily winked at her and said, "Things are going great, huh? You guys are awesome lab partners." This caused Spencer's eyes to widen.

"Why am I getting the feeling that she doesn't mean exactly what she's saying?" Hanna asked. "I'm feeling that there's some secret message underneath the wording of that. Just lab partners? Does Spencer like him?"

"No!" Spencer cried.

"Ok, she definitely likes him," Aria laughed, nodding her head. "I know you, Spence. You get defensive when you're lying. I don't blame you for liking him, though. He's really cute. Seems nice, too."

"You know what we should do?" Hanna said. "We need a girls' night. Let's have a sleepover. It's Friday night! We can talk about how great guys are, for Spencer, and how sucky guys are, for me! Plus, Aria and Emily, you both need to fill me in on your love lives. So, what do you say? Sleepover at my place tonight? My mom's on a date with her new boyfriend, and if she plays her cards right, hopefully she won't be coming home at all."

"Please don't tell me that you were hinting what I think you were hinting!" Aria cried, laughing.

"My mom is finally dating a man after she and my dad got divorced!" Hanna exclaimed. "As disgusting as it is, I think it's time that she gets laid again."

"Goodbye, end of that conversation," Spencer laughed. "But yeah, I'm in for a sleepover. I have field hockey practice after school, but I can come over at around six. Are the rest of you guys in?"

"I know I am," Aria agreed, nodding her head.

"Uh... well I have to tutor Alison today, but after should be good—" Emily began.

"You're tutoring Alison DiLaurentis?" Hanna asked. "That girl is—"

"Please, I don't need to hear another insult about her. She's not that bad, and we're just doing tutoring sessions. We're not best friends or anything," Emily assured them. "So, I'll call you guys when I'm finished with that."

"It's settled! Sleepover tonight!" Hanna exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

...

Alison tapped her pencil against her head, trying to concentrate on the French work in front of her, but she couldn't. Her mind always wandered off to crazy places. Hot guys... high school drama... sometimes even hot girls she was jealous of. But school work was never something she could keep on her mind. There she was, making an effort to focus, and she still couldn't.

Emily furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "Are you having trouble with this question, Alison?"

"I... I don't know," she mumbled. "I want to get it, but I can't. I can't concentrate. I don't get this stuff. I feel stupid. It's a basic question, I know."

"You are not stupid," Emily assured her. "Just try. I know you can do this."

"But I am!" Alison cried. "I'm the one getting Bs, Cs, and Ds on my tests and quizzes. You don't get it, because you get French. You're good at it. Do you want to just take a break and talk or something? Let's play truth or truth!"

"Truth or truth?" Emily inquired, confused. "I always thought it was truth or dare— agh, never mind. That's not the point. We're here to help you study French. You're going to get it, I promise."

"Yeah, truth or truth," Alison said with a smile. "We answer questions about each other, no dares. What do you say, Emily?"

"We need to do your work," Emily brushed off, shaking her head. "Come on, Alison. Focus."

"I'm trying!" Alison cried.

"Not hard enough. I'm here to push you to do your best," Emily told her. "I know you like talking and playing games. So, let's make this a little more fun. Every time you get a question right, we can play one round of truth or truth. Are you ok with that?"

"It's better than full on studying," Alison said with a smile. "And now, I've got a bit of a motive."

They spent the night answering French questions, and then answering real questions.

"Do you have your eye on any guys yet?" Alison, of course, asked first, once she was able to figure out a homework question on her own. "Rosewood's got a lot of hotties. It's about time that you take your pick."

"No... I haven't really met any guys yet," Emily confessed.

"Such a shame," Alison said, sighing. "We should go out to a party some time. I'll hook you up with a real hottie. I know a lot of guys at this school. It would be easy to find you a man. A hot one, too."

"I don't know," Emily mumbled. "Guys don't really... like me."

"You're kidding, right?" Alison laughed.

"No," Emily said, raising her eyebrows. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because, look at yourself!" Alison cried. "I usually don't compliment girls besides myself, or my closest friends, but dammit, Emily, you're smoking hot! You're actually telling me that guys at your old school weren't dying to get in your pants?"

Emily bit her lip and responded, "No, no guy wanted to 'get into my pants', as you oddly phrase it."

"It means sex," Alison said.

Emily rolled her eyes playfully with a smile and told her, "I know what it means. I'm not an alien to the world."

"You must be an alien if you don't think guys have liked you," Alison said, shaking her head. "Maybe you were just too shy to know. Too shy to know the signals of when a guy is coming onto you."

"What about you?" Emily asked. "Do you have your eye on any guys?"

"Nope, not at the moment," Alison responded. "No guy at this school is worth my time. To tell you the truth, I've never thought I loved a guy. Every boyfriend or kiss I've ever had was stupid and meaningless. I always get into that stuff for fun. Never because I'm searching for something real. I'll have to wait until I find somebody really special before I actually want to find love."

"You don't want to find love?" Emily asked.

"Oh, honey, everybody wants to find love," Alison responded. "But I've never met anybody that I've wanted to find love... with. There's never been anybody in my life that I've actually wanted to love. I don't even love my family."

Emily was puzzled. Alison DiLaurentis was really something different than anything the tanner girl had ever seen in her life. She was a mystery. A challenge. And Emily liked that. She liked a challenge. Easy was boring. Easy wasn't worth the time.

"I think we've studied enough for the day," Emily said. "I'm going to get going. I have plans with my other friends."

"You mean Spencer, Aria, and Hanna?" Alison inquired.

"How did you know?" Emily asked.

"Please, it's obvious," Alison responded. "Sometimes I keep my eye on you at school... and I've seen you with them quite a few times. You don't have to hide it from me, Emily. I know they've probably trashed me beyond what I'm capable of imagining, but that's ok. I knew they would, if they ever met you. Anyone would have. What amazes me is that you are still standing here right now."

"I don't give up on people until I see the real thing with my own eyes," Emily said. "I always tend to have more hope than I should. I give people the benefit of the doubt."

"And maybe that's why you're let down so easily," Alison told her, scoffing. "I hate to break it to you, but I'm not good. There's no miraculous part of me that's a great person. I'm a bitch. Everybody knows it, and I embrace it. Maybe you really should just walk away from me."

"I don't walk away from people," Emily quietly said. "I believe in you. I know you're denying it now, but I think there's a part of you that is good. I've seen it already. I think there's even more. I think you want to let somebody in. And I'd like to be that person."

Alison stared at the floor before saying, "I'm going to leave."

"Wait. Do you want to come to Hanna's house for the sleepover?" Emily asked. "Maybe it's a crazy idea, but maybe you can get a fresh start with them. I don't know about them, but I believe in second chances."

Alison shook her head before saying, "Uh, thank you for the offer, but I can't. What's between me and those girls is far more than what a silly little sleepover and popcorn can fix."

...

Emily arrived at Hanna's house, sitting down on the bed with the girls.

"Can we not watch movies this time?" Hanna begged. "Every time we do, it's a total wash! We end up watching some shit, and then we don't even talk."

"Fine, put away The Notebook, Spencer, I know you're hiding it," Aria teased.

"Pshh, I don't have it," Spencer jokingly said, and tossed the movie box on the floor. "So, what are we going to do? Have an old fashioned sleepover where we talk about boobs and boys?"

"Hell yes!" Hanna exclaimed. "Sometimes my bra gets so itchy, it pains me. And you know when you can never find the right sized bra? It's so annoying. Like, the Victoria's Secret sizes are different from the Walmart sizes. A C-cup in Victoria's can be like a triple damn A in Walmart, so am I not allowed to buy fancy bras some day, and cheap bras on other day—"

"I can't believe how long we let you continue that," Spencer said, putting her hand on Hanna's mouth to shut her up. "The boobs part was a joke."

"Boys, on the other hand," Hanna said with a smirk. "Sorry for my bra talk. Let's talk about how horrible boys are. I'm so pissed at Sean! They always hang out with prettier, better girls, and you end up feeling like crap."

"Prudence Finn is not better than you," Emily assured her. "You're amazing."

"Yeah, and your boobs are actually real," Spencer joked, licking the frosting off of a cupcake, and then laughing to herself.

"So, when she tells a boob joke, it's ok?" Hanna laughed, grinning.

"Definitely," Aria nodded her head, and then giggled a little bit as well.

"Anyone else have any crazy flings going on with any guys?" Hanna asked curiously. "Come on! You can't tell me that you've all been single for this long... I never thought I'd be the only one with a boyfriend, even though mine is being a jerk right now. Who have you guys been into lately?"

"Alright, I do have a confession about a guy to make..." Aria spoke up, ready to tell them about her secret relationship with Ezra. "You know how I made out with that guy named Ezra Fitz before school started?" They nodded. "Well, you also know how I told you that it actually wasn't the same guy as our English teacher, Mr. Fitz?" They nodded again. "I lied."

"Oh my god, I was fearing that!" Spencer cried. "Are you saying what I think you're saying, Aria?"

Emily was baffled, but she smiled a bit. Her friends did scandalous things. Maybe she would meet a guy, have a fling, or get a boyfriend. She wanted to be a part of this discussion, but she didn't have anybody to talk about! She just had Alison.

"I think I am," Aria mumbled. "So, I tried to transfer out of his class, but he begged me to stay, and then he kissed me again! I'm so conflicted. I like him... I have feelings for him. We connected so well, and I would love to see what happens, explore a relationship with this guy, but he's our English teacher. It's crazy, it's wrong, and we'll both get in so much trouble. We'll both also end up getting hurt."

"You can't date him," Spencer said, shaking her head. "I would support this if it was any guy except someone illegal. I don't want to see you guys getting hurt. Well, mainly just you."

"I know, I get that," Aria said, sighing. "I don't want to get in trouble, believe me. But how do I stop myself from wanting him so badly? He's stunning, that's no lie. And I do have feelings for him. I can't just turn them off! How do I stop thinking about him in class, and all the time? I want to do something about it!"

"Just try to stop," Emily suggested. "Meet someone else. I'm sure there are other nice guys out there."

"You're right," Aria said, but she was still in disbelief. She thought she would never meet a guy quite like Ezra Fitz. She could meet other guys, but they would never be him. She just didn't want to keep arguing about it. There was no way she would win when the guy she liked was illegal to date. It was invalid, and a waste of time. They were all right.

"Now that we know about Aria's crazy, scandalous relationship with Mr. Fitz, what about you, Hastings?" Hanna asked with a grin. "Is that thing with Toby really going on?"

"Thing?" Spencer scoffed. "Hanna, he's my lab partner."

"I have a radar for when a guy is into somebody, and that boy is into you!" Hanna cried. "Do you want him or not?"

"I don't have feelings for him!" Spencer denied, shaking her head. "We're just lab partners, and sort of friends. I used to tutor him, nothing more than that."

"Em, you've been silent," Hanna said with a smirk. "Do you know something about her secret crush?"

"No..." Emily mumbled, not wanting to spill her secret.

"Alright, fine!" Spencer cried. "I do have feelings for him, but it's nothing serious. It's just a stupid crush, and it'll go away soon. I know it will."

"I knew it!" Hanna exclaimed.

"We are done talking about this," Spencer said, laughing and shaking her head. "How come nobody's interrogating Emily? I doubt a girl this pretty can go a few weeks in Rosewood without getting a guy to go nuts for her. Who are you interested in, Em?"

"No one," she responded suddenly. "But I—" she stopped herself for a moment. All three of them stared at her curiously. "I made friends with Alison DiLaurentis. And she's amazing. She makes me laugh. I keep trying to understand why you guys wouldn't like her, and I don't get it."

"She's screwing you over," Spencer scoffed. "Is this what the tutoring sessions have been doing to you? Blinding you into bonding with her? She's toxic. She's not somebody you want to be friends with."

"Alright, I hear you guys keep saying stuff like this, but she's got a lot more to her than meets the eye," Emily tried to reason.

"She probably just gave you some sob story to get you to pity her. She knew she would get to you," Spencer argued. "As soon as that girl knows one of your secrets, she'll exploit it. She'll make you feel like she has power over you, and she does. She does have power over you."

"What the hell is this?" Emily asked, getting irritated. "Some clique movie? She's not some mean girl who thinks she's better than everyone. This isn't a high school dramedy. She's a real person, with real feelings, and a real personality."

"Spencer is right," Aria agreed, biting her lip. "I hate to say it, but she is a nightmare. She brings those high school movies to life. She actually resembles the villainous mean girl in all those movies. The only difference? She hasn't had her downfall yet. There's no happy ending where the mean girl gets taken down. That mean girl stays mean. She won't stop."

"I legitimately feel like I'm in a clique movie right now," Emily said, shaking her head. "Why can't you guys support this? I want to be friends with her. I really, really do. She makes me happy."

"She has that effect on people," Hanna contributed. "She makes you feel like the most special person in the world, but then she can take that all away in the blink of an eye."

"You know what? I think I'm going to leave," Emily announced, and left the room.

"Emily!" Hanna called. "We haven't even given each other makeovers yet!"

Spencer rolled her eyes and said, "Really, Hanna? She needs time to cool off."

"Look, we warned her," Aria said. "We can't control her. If she wants to make that mistake, then she can. I don't want to see her get hurt, but we've done all that we have the power to do. Maybe Alison will spare her."

Hanna shook her head and said, "Alison DiLaurentis does not spare anybody. You think she has some weird soft spot for Emily?"

"Yeah, right!" Spencer sarcastically said.

...

Emily found herself knocking on the blonde's door.

"Hey," she quietly said. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a sleepover with... them."

"I did, but I think we might have just gotten in a fight," Emily confessed. "Over you."

"Over me?" Alison asked, raising her eyebrows.

"They were trashing you."

"That's no surprise."

"But I defended you."

"Why?"

"Because I don't think you're all those things that they say you are."

"But I am."

"But you're not."

"But you don't know me."

"But I want to."

"Okay, no more buts. Just come in already."


End file.
